1 of My Two Favorite Maps to Play On: Thracia 776 Chapter 6

My Favorite Maps to Play On: Thracia 776 Chapters 4 & 6

Chapter 6



And here we have another immensely enjoyable map to play on. This is one of those maps where there are different methods of playing it, but both can be enjoyable to play as. If the player rescued the NPCs from Chapter 4x then this map is the payoff as it gives a nice array of goodies. In this map you can get:

• A Rapier
• A Paragon Manual
• A Knight Proof
• An Odo Scroll (+ 30 % Skill growth and protection from non-Wrath critical hits)
• A Pure Water
• The Recruitment of Hicks

So yeah, there's a lot of sweet stuff you don't want to miss. But these items are out of the way and not necessary to completing the chapter. But you still want to get them. If you do go for the treasures then you've got one heck of a fight as the Grandbell soldiers will come after you.

This map is actively enhanced by the higher movement of your mounted and flier units. It's as if the designers knew what the player had at their disposal and decided to actively test the player's use and knowledge of these mechanics.

 The walls provide an obstacle that the player has to be smart about in order to overcome it. You could have Karin rescue drop your unmounted units, but that would still take a little bit of time even if you're not going for the treasures. So now you also have to make good use of both your mounted units and your thief. Why also the thief? Well somebody's got to unlock those doors. 

The way this map is set up makes the presence of enemies an anti-turtle measure all on its own. If you don't play fast then the enemies catch up and make your life miserable. If you take a really long time Raydrik and Galzus show up and by that point you're probably screwed so it's best to avoid them altogether. Before you get to them you have to deal with enemy cavaliers showing up on the right and left sides of the map.

One last point to bring up is that it's once again an Escape map. You know the drill by now. Get everyone to escape or they get left behind. This adds an extra element of fun to the mix as the player now has to decide how they will accomplish this, and how the rescue dropping can help with that.

To sum it up, this is an awesome map that gives you a lot of choices about how to approach it. It's also great because of how it turns enemies into turtle disincentives, which is a brilliant concept all on its own. What helps to make this map stand out is how it incorporates the mounting, dismounting, and rescue mechanics into the equation. It's a rare example of a map where higher movement and para-dropping enhance a map, rather than break it. 

1 of My Two Favorite Maps to Play On: Thracia 776 Chapter 4

My Favorite Maps to Play On: Thracia 776 Chapters 4 & 6

Chapter 4



In what I'm sure will come as a surprise to absolutely no one Thracia 776 Chapters 4 & 6 are my absolute favorite maps to play on. Let's start with Chapter 4.

What I love about this map is the absolute curve-ball it throws at the player. It's a curve-ball story wise because our heroes are scattered and in prison. Leif and your thief (Lifis / Rifis) are the only characters from the previous chapters who are still here. Every other character is new. 

It also starts the game with the main character IN JAIL. How often do you see a Fire Emblem game do something like that? The player only has three characters who aren't in jail, and you've got to make them work. The three characters, Brighton, Makua and Lara, aren't super powerful units (though they're not bad either) so busting out the rest of the cast can be a bit of a chore. 

Once you've done that the real fun begins. The characters in jail still don't have their stuff, which means that you're going to have to get it. That's where the treasures on the map come in. Anything that Leif or your thief had prior to this chapter are in these treasure chests. 

This adds A LOT to the chapter. It slows the player down, giving the enemy reinforcements extra time to show up and make your life miserable. It also adds to the map even if you see it coming when playing Thracia 776 again. If you know that Leif and Lifis are going to be the only characters left that forces you to think about which weapons and which items you want to leave behind with those characters. That's the exact mentality I used when I streamed Thracia 776. Speaking of my previous Thracia 776 stream....



This chapter is infamous for creating the Green Brigand meme. For those of who who could not watch my stream there was an amazing story that you had to be there to witness: One of the green NPC's had captured an enemy soldier while I was trying to escape through the top portion of the map. For those of you who haven't played Thracia 776 when you capture an enemy your stats are halved. So this NPC had his stats cut in half, his NPC allies dead and he was surrounded by enemies on all sides. So what does he do? He dodges the vast majority of attacks and proceeds to kill most of the enemies in his wake. It was glorious! I've never seen an NPC unit pull off a feat like that before. Not even the 3-13 archer in Radiant Dawn was THAT epic. It spawned a meme as we all pretended to worship. It's also the name of Guy's YouTube channel (which is where I got the picture from). That meme is one of the biggest reasons why I will always love Chapter 4 of Thracia 776.



And I'm still not done talking about why this map rocks. Chapter 4 also has the added side bonus of the other NPCs. You see, if they all escape it leads to unlocking a Gaiden Chapter. This creates another interesting side objective. It makes the map difficult in the best possible way, because those enemy soldiers will do everything in their power to capture those NPCs. If those soldiers run off with them, gone goes the player's chances of Chapter 4x, the gaiden that nets you the all powerful Asvel. 

Something else I need to bring up is the way this chapter handles turtle disincentives. Like I talked about with Chapter 21x, this game doesn't throw a ton of enemy reinforcements at you all at once. Instead, it only sprinkles enemy reinforcements in little bits at a time. No individual "sprinkle" is lethal on its own, but what defines the pressure here is the gradual build-up over time. It's a creative way of handling turtle disincentives. 




Last, but not least, there's a bottle-neck up at the top. This is the final part of the map where enemy mages and Armor Knights try to slow the player down while enemy soldiers down at the bottom race to the top to try and catch up with the player. So as a result, the player's trapped and has to fight out of that trap even faster if they want to win. There are a couple of mages that can make the player's life miserable. There's also a recruitable Armor Knight called Dalsin (whose name always reminds me of a certain character on Street Fighter). 

Let's not forget that this is an Escape chapter, which means that everybody needs to escape if the player wants to use them in upcoming chapters. This adds an extra layer of strategy on top of the excellent elements this chapter had to offer. Now you have to think about who's going to escape first and who's going to stay behind and fight off the bad guys. 

At the end of the day, Chapter 4 is GENIUS in its design. It just does everything well. In addition to all that it spawned a pretty funny meme. What more could you possibly want?

Top 10 Favorite Maps to Play On (Part 3)

# 3: Thracia 776 Chapters: 17A & 21x

Chapter 17A


I like this map A LOT. So much so in fact that I've already gushed about it on my blog. Here is the link for your enjoyment:

https://thecrusadergrant.blogspot.com/2016/09/analyzing-thracia-776-chapter-17a.html

I'm going to try and approach this from a different angle this time. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that this map in particular was kind of like 10B / 11A in Binding Blade. 

Both maps are the kind that give the player A LOT to do and put said player in a position where if they want to get all the goodies then they need to play really fast. It was a close call between both versions, but what gives Thracia the edge in this case is that it's less frustrating to play. As someone noted when we talked about 10B / 11A, there are suicidal NPC's that can be frustrating to deal with. I agree with this assessment, but I still love those maps regardless. 17A has all the benefits of 10B & 11A without the drawback. 



It also has an additional turtle disincentives that can put a lot of pressure on the player:

•  First, Cyas appears. Cyas's presence alone boosts enemy hit rates and avoid by 30 %, meaning that he can make ordinary enemy mooks significantly more challenging to deal with. Cyas has the Sleep staff at his disposal, which will make your life even more difficult.

• In addition to Cyas appearing, there will be a three-tile bridge that will form, allowing that army of Armor Knights to cross. And don't forget, this army will be boosted by Cyas's leadership stars.

• Then another boss appears with an army of Mage Knights. They show up right where the player used to be. They too, will have their stats boosted by Cyas's leadership stars.

Fortunately Cyas will leave after a few turns, but by that point the player has to deal with the map putting them between a rock and a hard place. Overall, this map is amazing and it continues to stay that way.

______________________________________________________

Chapter 21x

You know, I'm not a fan of how most gaiden chapters are designed. They can be a bit gimmicky, they generally tend to be short and there's a good chance that there will be Fog of War on those maps. Chapter 21x has none of that nonsense. More importantly, it's a capture paradise! There's a lot of Warp staves and Thoron to steal on this level and trying to get them all is what makes this map so much fun. The treasures at the middle of the map are also good too since you get a Knight Proof, Bolting and Unlock staff. 

This map also does a great job of putting pressure on the player in the form of enemy reinforcements. What this map does that's so interesting is that it sprinkles enemy reinforcements all throughout the map. And it does so consistently enough so that it can build up over time. It won't punish you at first, which can lull the player into a false sense of security. But if the player does not heed the game's warning, they will suffer the consequences. 



In order to unlock this map, at least one of the player's characters has to be captured. It is admittedly weird and counter-intuitive to purposefully let one of your units get captured, but for me it's forgiven by the fact that it makes for an interesting side objective. It gives the player one more reason to push forward. So what this map ultimately gives the player is the potential to capture and steal some really sweet items, get their captured allies back and unlock some goodies all while the game puts pressure on said player. This map gets my vote for "Best Designed Gaiden Chapter In The Series."
____________________________________________________

 # 2: Thracia 776: Chapters 9 & 13



Chapters 9 & 13 are on here for essentially the same reason: They're extremely fun Escape maps. Their set-up is the same which is why I like them equally. In both maps the player is set on the opposite side of the map and is asked to reach a spot on the map that is being attacked by enemy units. It's a great set-up in both a gameplay sense and in a story sense.

These maps have houses you can visit that add a little extra spice to the chapter. They act as detours for the player and can slow said player down, but in both chapters the treasures contained are worth it. In chapter 9 you get the Fala Scroll at the village that's on top, and Stamina bags for the village down below. The Fala Scroll gives a + 5 % growth to Strength and Magic in addition to a + 10 % growth to Skill and Speed. It also protects the player from non-Wrath critical hits, which is especially helpful in this chapter since the Wyvern Knights at the bottom of the map, including the boss, all have Killer Lances. 



The Stamina bags on the bottom are a HUGE boon. It's rare for this game to outright sell Stamina bags so whenever this game hands an opportunity like that on a silver platter you take it. Stamina bags let the player use their units as much as they want without having to sit out the next chapter. They're fun to use, but they only show up every now and then. These bags are at the bottom of the map, which means that they have a catch to them. You'll have to cut down Armor Knights, a bishop and potentially suffer the wrath of Wyvern Knights equipped with Killer Lances. Plus while you're dealing with that, the enemy army marches on. Tick-Tock. Tick-Tock. 

In Chapter 13 the villages basically give you armor slaying weapons to help you deal with the legion of Armor Knights and a Knight Proof. Again, the design choice is ultimately the same: Place treasures in areas that force the player to go out of the way to reach them, but still make it worth the players' time. As a result there's a cost-benefit analysis that the player has to make when approaching this level.

Another interesting design element is that both maps have their escape points defended by playable units. There are playable characters, and in Chapter 13 playable non-portrait mooks. This gives the player an extra element of choice. While you're trying to play catch-up you also have to defend those spots. The defenders aren't very strong so there's actual tension. 



Last, but not least, these are Escape chapters; which means that if the player wants to beat the map and still have every unit available in the next chapters, they'll have to make sure that everyone escapes. This puts an extra emphasis on the player to choose their units carefully. And considering the fact that both chapters only allow a relative handful of units to be used the suggestion here is to pick wisely.

On a last minute note, it's fun to warp a promoted Asvel to a forest tile on Chapter 13 and see him wreck face. It's even better when you kill the boss, because after he dies the majority of the Grandbell army retreats like total wusses. Even breaking Thracia 776 is a heap of fun.

Top 10 Favorite Maps to Play On (Part 2)

# 7 - Conquest Chapter 16


Wait a second. Is Grant saying that he likes playing a Conquest map? 

Yep. I find Chapter 16 of Conquest to be a very fun map to play on. First of all, I’m a sucker for creative anti-turtle measures and this map definitely has one. The player starts the map with 10,000 gold and then loses 300 each round. That’s brilliant! There’s always going to be a sense of urgency because who wouldn’t want to have a lot of gold? I usually get around 9,000 gold whenever I beat this map.

This map also does a great job at throwing a variety of enemies at you, which is something I’ve always appreciated. You have Mercs, Berserkers, Sorcerers, Bow Users, etc. This requires the player to diversify their army in order to beat the map. What’s even better is that these enemies also use a creative variety of weapons. Wyrmslayer. Armorslayer. Bows. There’s bound to be a weapon that will deal effective damage against at least one of your units so you also have to pay attention to you’re fighting and what they’re carrying. As if that weren’t enough, this map also contains clever positioning of status staves so your every move really counts.

Last, but not least, this map forces the player to move in four different directions. In order to find the boss the player has to talk to four different lancers. The boss, Shura, will always be the last lancer. This is a really neat twist since this map gives the player control over where they want the boss to be and how they want to deal with him. Shura has Counter so you do have to proceed with Caution when you fight him, once again reinforcing the fact that you have to be careful and strategic when playing this map.

Then comes the most meaningful choice in Fates: Shura or Boots. And in the most hilarious way possible, the Boots wind up being the more meaningful choice. This map is the gift that keeps on giving. It’s extremely creative in its design from start to finish and it never stops being fun for the player.

____________________________________________________

# 6 - Conquest Chapter 8

This map feels like a fast paced roller-coaster from start to finish. The player must traverse a lake in order to beat down a boss with Nosferatu on the other side of the map. This map also has a creative means of encouraging the player to play faster: The villages. Visit 3 villages by the end of the map and you get a whopping 10,000 gold. 10,000 gold is significant. You want that money. The map gives the player a “freebie” village and then you’ve gotta earn the other two.

The map also gives the player different paths to approach, which is always a plus. Then there’s the Dragon Vein. This map gets my vote for having the best use of Dragon Vein. Here you can either freeze the lake over, giving yourself passage to the other side, or you can unfreeze the lake and prevent enemies from ever reaching you. This gives the player options and forces the player to weigh said options when thinking about how to approach the throne. 



The enemies in this map are simple, but effective in their design. Sorcerers and Fighters hit really hard and in this game they have an accuracy that can be taken seriously.

Flora’s status staff also adds to the level as it slows the player down. She also causes the player to think twice about their positioning. Flora’s stronger than the average enemy on this map so you’re going to need an over-leveled Corrin to wreck her. The last element of this map that I enjoy is the boss: He’s a mage with Nosferatu. You definitely have to think twice about how to approach the boss because simply charging forward guns a-blazing will get you killed while the boss is at near full HP. There’s also the fact that it’s a two range weapon which means that you’ll have to watch your step.

All-in-all it’s a fun, fast paced map.
_____________________________________________________

# 5 - New Mystery of the Emblem Chapter 22


This map for me is the epitome of "play fast or die". From the first turn onward enemy reinforcements show up behind you...and they don't let up. Enemy reinforcements will continue to add up and pile on until either you win or you die. The map is mean by placing treasures off to the side. Both of the treasures are dragon killing weapons, which are extremely useful at this part of the game. But doing so usually gets you killed. 

This map has carefully placed mages with ballistic siege tomes that will make life miserable for you if you're not careful. All the Dragons and Berserkers can hit HARD too so you have to be extra careful. There are two entrances to the throne and no matter which one you take you pretty much have to charge in "guns a-blazing" because otherwise they're going to kill you.

All the while more and more enemies will show up behind you and will chase you at a relentless pace. The map feels like a giant obstacle course where the price of failure IS DEATH! And I will always love this map for it.
______________________________________________________

# 4 - Binding Blade Chapter 10B / 11A



These maps are wonderfully chaotic in the best possible way. The reason why I'm listing these two is because they play the exact same way. So let's take a look at all the wonderful side objectives that these maps provide:

• Recruiting Echidna, Klein and Tate
• Rescuing multiple villages
• Obtaining several promotion items

This map will keep you busy in the best possible way. Recruiting Klein and Tate is a little tricky. What's even more tricky? Trying to recruit them without killing a single member of their respective armies. That requirement is the epitome of "frustrating, but in a good way." The reward for keeping their NPC armies alive is that you get a promotion item. One of them is an Elysian Whip, which you can use to promote Miledy. The other one is an Orion Bolt, which can either promote Shin or provide a lot of money.

The villages will also be threatened too, so if you didn't get the message PLAY FAST! According to the wiki the villages net you "Visit 8 villages for Restore, Dragonshield, 5000G, Speedwing, Orion's Bolt, Sleep, Axereaver, and an Angelic Robe". So yeah, there's a lot of valuable stuff. Definitely worth saving if you ask me. Bytheway, if you save all the villages you'll get a Hero Crest. It's as if these maps are going overkill in rewarding the player. I like overkill. 

In both maps Echidna will also be threatened by enemies. As if we didn't already get the memo it's blatantly clear that if you want all of the wonderful goodies you're going to have to earn them....and I freaking love it. I wish more Fire Emblem maps would require the player to be this busy. It keeps you engaged because there's never a dull moment and there's an immense feeling of satisfaction that comes from getting everything because you know that you earned it.

Top 10 Favorite Maps to Play On (Part 1)

The next suggestion for a blog series came from Alan. He suggested “Top 10 Favorite Maps”. Here I’m limiting it to gameplay so this will be a “Top 10 Favorite Maps to Play” list. Feel free to mention maps that you like to play as you follow this list along.

# 10 - Mystery / New Mystery of the Emblem Chapter 2


Here is an example of a fun early game chapter to play. Recent Fire Emblem early game chapters tend to go easy on the player, but this one throws a couple of curve balls at you. First, there’s the thief with the droppable Lady Sword. It’s a fun puzzle to try and solve, as the Lady Sword is an absolute must-have.

What’s even more cool is that it’s a map where the boss actually moves off his throne. This has a lot of fun implications too since he’s a Wyvern Knight. In the SNES version he wields a Knight Killer, which can basically wipe out a good chunk of the characters in the player’s army by this point.

With the boss having such high movement the player is put into a position where their every move matters. If I’m not ready to take on the boss then that’s a reset for me. This forces me to pay attention, and its made me appreciate the map for it.

Just to recap: This map is very fun to play on because of a well executed "thief drop" and because of a boss who enhances the level of thought and strategy required to play it.

____________________________________________________

# 9: Mystery / New Mystery of the Emblem Chapter 7



This is the map where you get Navarre and Feena. There are a bunch of thieves who are actively running away from you who drop some pretty awesome items. This makes the chapter fun because it rewards smart decisions. If you kill the thieves quickly you get stuff like a Star Shard, a Seraph Robe, promotion items or a bullion in the remake version.

What I like about this map is the creative way it gets you to play faster. If you want to get all the stuff, you need to be able to reach those thieves in the quickest period of time possible. It's a map where the presence of forest tiles actually make sense because it's acting as a buffer between the player and the thieves. The addition of Navarre and Feena is an interesting choice that increases the player's options. In terms of which thief do you want to strike down first.



The presence of Astram's mercenaries also adds to the quality of the map. They're so strong by this point in the game that the player will try to avoid them whenever possible. This has two implications: 1) If the thieves run within the mercenaries range it creates a "safe zone" for them that the player can't get to. After all the player doesn't want to get wrecked by said mercs.

2) Once the mercs start chasing the player, they act as a turtle disincentive. It's the game's way of getting the player to hurry up and beat the level.

Since the leader of these mercs is recruitable later on, it further incentivizes the player to avoid combat with these mercs too.

Just to recap: I love this map because of the excellent "thief drops" and for its clever positioning of powerful enemy mercs, which make the map more fun to play.
________________________________________________

# 8: Binding Blade Chapter 7


This is one of those maps that I file away under “frustrating, but in a good way”. This map is unrelenting. It starts by putting several recruitable NPCs in danger. As if that weren’t enough these NPCs are in a fighting mood, which makes your life more difficult. The enemies in Hard Mode are powerful, especially those tanky wyverns. This means that you’re gonna have to fight HARD if you want to get those recruitable characters.

The map is also kind enough to give the player a host of valuable stuff. From a Killing Edge, to a Physic to a Red Gem this map really dishes out the goods.

So you’ve beaten the first wave of enemies and you think the rest of this chapter will be a breeze. Then the map throws a curve-ball at you.

Suddenly more enemies appear. So once again, you either play fast or die. You’ve gotta rush to the throne and the boss is no push over. It’s a very well designed map that forces you to play fast, then lets up (lulling the player into a false sense of security) and then throws a very effective turtle disincentive at you. It’s a great example of a map that’s tough, but fair which makes it a memorable and rewarding map to play.